I was always been captivated by comic books, and reading them as a child. Growing up in rural Kentucky in the early 1980's, comics became a way of not only escape, but inspiration to pick up a pencil and paper to draw. I began drawing at a very young age in elementary school, and my skills were always widely used around campus. As I moved into college, it was evident that my drawing skills were becoming more and more prominent as I became more confident in my artistic style. I began dabbling in 2D digital drawing on old Wacom tablets from the mid 2004. The invention of the iPad has allowed my mind to create vivid and colorful artworks of some of my most beloved icons from my childhood and today. Combing my love and passion for the 80's art style, I combine retro "synthwave" inspirations into my artworks, which give me a unique expression on modern pop culture icons.
All of my art is drawn on a 12.9 inch iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil. I can be seen on social streaming platforms like Twitch, drawing my creations live on camera before a host of spectators. Recently, my artworks have been sold in local comic book and novelty shops around Orlando metro area and sold worldwide via my ArtStation Profile.
Conversations with Samantha takes you through the journey of what it is like to be in an interracial-biracial family. Samantha is a beautiful, kind, smart, adventurous and imaginative girl. She is learning about loving her skin, and why the color of her skin is what she looks like on the outside. Samantha ‘s mom is teaching her that she is so much more than what she looks like on the outside, and this is a lesson that all boys and girls should be taught no matter the color of their skin.
Having the opportunity to illustrate the innocence of a child, especially following the narrative of a coming of age girl of color was both a challenge and rewarding. The challenging part was conveying the raw emotion of a child through an illustration that perfectly accompanied the author’s narrative. I learned so much about myself in the process, and was able to paint each page as Samantha and her mother Patrica had the deeply rooted bedside conversations about skin color. “Conversations with Samantha” will be an ongoing book series, with more titles releasing soon.
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